SPORTS 15
Saturday, 23 September, 2017
Tom moody appoinTed as mulTan sulTans head coach KARACHI
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ORMER Australian cricketer Tom Moody has been appointed as the head coach of Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) new team Multan Sultans. The announcement was made by Multan Sultans Director of Cricket Wasim Akram during a ceremony to launch the team’s kit and logo in Karachi. “Tom Moody has great experience of coaching, especially for franchisebased cricket. His presence will lead Multan to new heights,” Wasim said while announcing the appointment of Moody as the head coach of the franchise. Moody who represented Australia in 8 Tests and 76 ODIs was coach of Sri Lanka’s national cricket team from
2005 to 2007. He was also the coach of IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad and BPL team Rangpur Riders.
‘no response’ from sindh govt hampers afridi’s cricket academy plans
The 51-year-old Moody said he was excited to be part of the franchise and was looking forward to working
Pakistan Test squad for Sri Lanka series to be announced today LAHORE
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The national squad for the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka will be announced on Saturday, said chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq. Fitness concerns continue to loom over Test opener Azhar Ali and leg-spinner Yasir Shah ahead of the two-Test series beginning from September 28. Yasir Shah struggled to impress team management and coaches at the training camp at the Gaddafi Stadium, and is due to undergo a fitness test soon. “Yasir Shah is an important bowler, that’s why we are waiting for his fitness test,” said Inzamam, adding that the spinner’s test could not be conducted today. About Azhar, who is struggling to overcome a knee injury, the chief selector said the batsman’s fitness has improved. It re-
Pakistan’s former all-rounder Shahid Afridi on Thursday said he wants to set up a cricket academy in Karachi but received no response from the Sindh government when he sought its help in this regard. Afridi, who starred in the Peace Cup match organised by the Pakistan Army, PCB and Peshawar Zalmi in North Waziristan, shared his future plans with senior journalist Hamid Mir. Asked why the Sindh government failed to respond to his request, the former captain said the provincial government might not be interested. “I had requested Sindh government for a cricket academy, but received no response. My plan is to build an academy where English, mathematics and other subjects are also taught along with cricket,” he said. Afridi said he intends to select 50 to 60 youngsters from across the country and bring them to his academy, where they would receive education and cricket training. “@SAfridiOfficial need some attention from Sindh Govt @BBhuttoZardari @MuradAliShahCM,” Hamid Mir tweeted in a bid to draw the attention of Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah and PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to Afridi’s plans.
Ronaldo, messi, neymar are the finalists for FiFa’s ‘The Best’
with Wasim Akram for making Multan Sultans a great team. “I am looking forward to being involved with Multan Sultans next year for the PSL and partnering-up with my old mate Wasim Akram,” Moody said in a video message. “Great things ahead for the new side in the PSL. Looking forward to working with all the local talent and putting together a great team for the success in the future,” the former Australian cricketer added. Wasim Akram, at the occasion, aimed that he’ll make sure that Multan emerges as the best team in the PSL and the franchise also contributes towards the development of players. He, on behalf of the franchise, also announced Rs 500,000 for the family of deceased cricketer Amir Bashir, a talented batsman from Multan, who lost his life to cancer in 2010.
mains to be seen if the selectors decide to rest him to allow for his complete recovery. Inzamam also said five fast bowlers will be selected in the squad. The Pakistan Cricket Board earlier this month finalised the 16member squad for the Sri Lanka series, which includes young pacer Mir Hamza but omits spinner
Shadab Khan and experienced allrounder Mohammad Hafeez. The squad consists of: Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Sarfraz Ahmed, Usman Salahuddin, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Asghar, Mohammad Abbas, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza and Wahab Riaz.
Bangladesh’s Rubel flies to South Africa after ID mix-up DHAKA AGENCIES
Bangladesh fast bowler Rubel Hossain flew out to join the tour of South Africa on Friday after his departure was delayed by a bizarre case of
mistaken identity involving a look-a-like namesake with a criminal record. Rubel departed nearly a week late after officials proved he was not the unknown man barred by South African authorities, who had the same name, similar personal details and looked identical in his photo. “We received
Rahim says Bangladesh ready to take ‘next step’ SPORTS DESK Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim said Thursday his team were approaching their tour of South Africa with confidence after playing well in recent years. Rahim said he wanted his team to build on their form in home matches, including Test wins over England and Australia in the past year. “Bangladesh has been playing really well in the last couple of years,” he said. “The first target is to keep that intensity going. When we are playing at home we are really confident. “It’s not going to be easy, but this is our next step. We want to do well in Africa as well. It is a great opportunity for us.” Rahim admitted that the unavailability of allrounder Shakib Al Hasan for the two Tests against South Africa was a blow. “Shakib is a special player and no-one can replace him,” he said. He acknowledged that meeting the challenge of South Africa’s fast bowlers in local conditions would be crucial. “How we cope with the fast bowlers is key to our success,” he said. “But players like Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman and Mominul Haque have improved a lot as individuals and hopefully they will take their responsibility to the middle.” Rahim said he expected good performances from his bowlers. “They are inexperienced but skilful and if the wickets offer a little bit of spin, our spinners can do well.” Bangladesh declared at 306 for seven Thursday in the opening day of a three-day warm-up against a South African Invitation XI at Willowmoore Park in eastern Johannesburg suburb Benoni. The home team were 21 for one at the close. Opening batsman Tamim was forced to retire hurt with a thigh muscle injury after facing just 13 balls. Tamim, a veteran of 51 Tests and the team’s all-time leading run-scorer, made five runs before leaving the field in the fifth over. Team manager Minhazul Nanna said the batsman had suffered a strained right thigh muscle. He left the field as a precaution and his condition would be assessed Friday following a scan. Bangladesh will play two Tests, three one-day internationals and two Twenty20 internationals during the tour. (from South African authorities) a photo, name and other information and all these things completely matched with Rubel though the person was different,” Bangladesh Cricket Board president Nazmul Hassan told reporters. “(The person) they had banned was not our player Rubel. There was a similar kind of person whose name, date of birth and all other information were similar, which confused them,” he said.
Qalandars Rising Stars: Thousands of aspirants attend trials in Faisalabad
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After an exceptional 2017 for all three individuals, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Neymar are the three finalists for ‘The Best’ award run by FIFA. Ronaldo is the current holder after his exploits with Portugal and Real Madrid in 2016, and his contributions to Los Blancos’ LaLiga and Champions League winning campaigns ensure he is the favourite to take home the prize yet again. Messi didn’t have comparable team honours to show for his work in 2017, but the Argentinian finished as the top scorer in Spain with 35 goals. He represents Ronaldo’s fiercest competition for the winning of the award. Most of the recent headlines surrounding Neymar have been about his world record, 222 million euro transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, rather than his on-pitch exploits. With that being said, the Brazilian enjoyed a productive calendar year and was pivotal to Barcelona in Messi’s absence. He is a finalist for the trophy although it is isn’t expected he will be able to break the duopoly of the two icons just yet.
Lahore Qalandar’s hunt for new talent continues to receive an overwhelming response from aspiring Qalandars as the first day of Rising Stars trials in Faisalabad witnessed over 14,000 aspiring cricketers trying their luck. The two-day trials in Faisalabad, the last stop for Rising Stars caravan, kicked-off early on Friday as thousands gathered outside Iqbal Stadium even before the trials were scheduled to start. Geo reported that the footfall on the first day of trials in Faisalabad was massive and around fourteen thousand aspirants arrived to show their skills. “Response to the program has been overwhelming everywhere,” said CEO of Lahore Qalandars Atif Rana. “In Gujranwala and Faisalabad, we saw the players arrived concurrently, hence there were gate-crash incidents as well. This, at the same time, shows the eagerness and passion of
these players,” Rana added. From thousands of aspirants, few hundred were shortlisted and have
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been invited again for the final session of trials. “Players shortlisted on day one,
the number is in hundreds, are invited for further tests on Saturday,” said Aqib Javed, Lahore Qalandars Director of Cricket. “At the end of day two, we’ll have a list of 16 ready to represent Faisalabad Rising Stars, in the rising stars tournament, starting on 26th,” he added. Aaqib said that it was exciting to see thousands of players coming to the trials. “Sometimes I feel like I am addressing a rally, the numbers of aspirants for Lahore Qalandars Rising Star trials were massive at every spot,” Aqib said. “This response confirms that hunger to perform is there, but the opportunity windows were not provided before,” he added. Faisalabad is the last venue for Qalandars Rising Star trials. The coaches’ panel under Aqib Javed has already picked teams from seven venues. The eight-team tournament will start from September 26 in Muzaffarabad and Lahore.